Thursday Off

Last night my son had a friend stay the night. They talked non stop. Late into the night. I fell asleep at about midnight and they were still talking. I think they were watching The Young Ones as well as I could hear laughter going on.

At 6.00 am they were up and out of bed playing Xbox live. I think my son will be tired tonight. When I was young and had a friend stay over, we would talk for hours as well.

So, I took the day off work today to take my son and his friend out for some fun. Note, I did not say "to take my son and his friend and myself out for some fun".

I don't like to whinge too often, but to be honest some of the things that parents do to ensure a fun day out for kids are boring.

I took them to a place called Sidetracked which has Go Karts, Laser Force (laser shooting in a maze in the dark), ten pin bowling, mini golf and loads of money gobbling arcade games.

I decided to get there early to beat the crowds. Well, what a mistake that was. There was nobody there but us three and the staff. It was then I realised that I was in for a bit of a boring three hours.

Sidetracked is a place that promises lots of fun at considerable cost. The cost is not unfair, I have to say, as to run a place like that and have all the public liability insurance etc. costs money. So I am not suggesting the value is not there. But if you have three or more children, you can bet your hand will be deep in your pocket.

They had a deal going that was too practical to refuse. Trouble with being a bookkeeper is that you always look at the best value for money and so I coughed up for a special that let the boys do bowling, laser force and mini golf for as much as they liked for two hours. However, the two hours was not due to start for another 45 minutes and so I then spent more money to squeeze in a ten minute go kart session to kill some time. Just want to say what a jolly good up sell the man behind the counter did on that one.

I have to admit, Go Karting is great fun for kids. Getting to drive before the age of eighteen is a bit exciting. The opportunity to drive with your foot flat to the floor for ten minutes brings out the competitive nature in anyone.

There were about ten children and two adults doing this race. One of the kids was a young girl and her driving was so slow and so cautious that she had to learn very quickly about keeping to the left.

I stood on the sidelines watching and realised that my son has a really competitive streak. Once he moved out from the pit stop he seemed to morph into a mini man. The expression on his face was one of set determination and he raced past everyone until he came behind the leader of the pack, an adult who deliberately refused to let him pass. Every time my son made a move up to the side to get past, this guy would close it off and force him to back off. In the end, there was a collision which stopped the race and the adult was told off by the supervisor. Made me wonder who exactly was the child there at that time.

After the race finished, the two boys headed off to play indoor laser force for about an hour. Let me tell you, what a boring place it then was for me. And not just me. Sole adults sat at lone tables with books and coffee waiting for the two hours to pass.

It was noisy with the sounds of music, chatter and go karts going around the track. There was the smell of grease or something in the air which I love. Although the place was an open warehouse, they had heaters that hung down from the roof and kept the place warm. It was nice to watch the children enjoying themselves.

I had brought a book with me to read which was so boring that I could not get past the third page and subsequently sat writing and drawing mindlessly. When I got home my husband asked me what did I do while they were playing. I just rolled my eyes. Fortunately I have a high boredom tolerance level. The beauty of being a hard core daydreamer. No matter where you are there is always something to watch. Something to think about.

It was lots of fun for the boys and we don't go to these sorts of places often. They were really appreciative of the day.

Another day off tomorrow.

But I am keeping it cheap.

Ciao
LC